Elaine Chao

Elaine Chao (26 March 1953-) was US Secretary of Labor (R) from 29 January 2001 to 20 January 2009, succeeding Alexis Herman and preceding Hilda Solis; on 29 November 2016, Donald Trump nominated her as his Secretary of Transportation.

Biography
Elaine Chao was born on 26 March 1953 in Taipei, Taiwan, and her family moved to the United States in 1961. She gained a Master of Business Administration degree from the Harvard School of Law in 1979, and she worked as a banker at Bank of America and Citicorp for years. From 1988 to 1989, she served on the Federal Maritime Committee, and she was also involved with the Peace Corps. Chao became a US Republican Party politician, and she married Mitch McConnell, a Republican senator who would later become Senate Majority Leader; in 2001, Chao herself was appointed Secretary of Labor under President George W. Bush. Her reputation was besmirched by two mine accidents that left fifteen people dead, but she was known for her activism with Asian-Americans and with senatorial spouses. On 29 November 2016, President Donald Trump nominated her as his Secretary of Transportation.